Rodrigo Santoro Talks 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE, RIO 2, HELENO and More

Rodrigo Santoro (300) is set to star as a trouble maker-turned-town hero in director Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the town sheriff who deputizes Santoro’s character, The Last Stand centers on the last ditch effort of a rag-tag bunch of local law enforcement attempting to stop a powerful drug lord from coming through their town to cross the border. Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Forest Whitaker and Eduardo Noriega, The Last Stand opens January 18th.

During a recent interview for The Last Stand, Santoro gave us updates on the status of Senna, as well as positive feedback from the studio for 300: Rise of an Empire, an update on his voice-work in Rio 2 and the status of his recent Brazilian picture, Heleno. Hit the jump for the latest news.

Santoro: Yeah, I mean it’s coming out in August. I’m not sure about the day. I heard the second, but I’m not sure. It’s August. They’re happy. I’ve heard they’re very happy with it, which makes me happy. It was great. Shot in Bulgaria. I play the same character, little different…you get a little more of his backstory, a little bit here and there. I can’t talk much because I’m not allowed to, but I think it’s going to be pretty cool.

Another verified project for Santoro is a reprisal of his voice-work for the animated sequel, Rio 2. Here’s what he had to say about that picture:

Yeah, I’m playing the same role but it’s different. The adventure gets bigger. We go to the Amazon. It’s gonna be great I think. We’re working on it.

Unfortunately, it looks as if there haven’t been any new developments on the Senna picture since we last spoke to him, but Santoro’s Heleno, in which he stars in the title role of the biopic of Brazilian soccer player Heleno de Freitas, is currently playing stateside in limited release.